Porsche nearly went to Formula 1 instead of Le Mans

A Porsche F1 wouldn't have been without precedent.

In a recent interview with the UK's AUTOSPORT, Porsche's R&D head Wolfgang Hatz revealed that, if the firm's trip to Le Mans this year had been thwarted, it would have launched a factory-backed Formula 1 program.

According to Hatz, when the company first began mulling its return to "front-line motorsport" in 2010, a potential conflict arose.

"What could have influenced it was if someone in the group had said, 'Yes, but Audi is there and you cannot compete with Audi,'" Hatz says, referencing the two brands' mutual Volkswagen parent.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

"There were only two options, F1 or LMP … If someone from senior management had said this is not possible, we would have had no other alternative [but F1]."

At the time of that discussion, Porsche hadn't contested Le Mans since 1998, more than a decade before its tie-up with VW Group. And to think, with one phone call, Porsche would be challenging Red Bull and Ferrari right now at open-wheel racing's top level. Tantalizing, isn't it? Well, it got us reminiscing about Ferrari's short-lived 1962 Formula 1 team.

In the late 1950s, Stuttgart's stellar 1.5-liter quad-cam flat-four was behind a string of F2 victories, culminating with a Stirling Moss-led 1-2-3 finish at Aintree in 1960. When the FIA restricted top-tier engine capacity to 1500cc a year later, Porsche launched its maiden factory-backed Formula 1 squad with a young Dan Gurney at the wheel. While a purpose-built car sat delayed in gestation, the team tackled its inaugural campaign in F2 racers, with mixed results.

Porsche's first and only F1 car, the 908, rolled out in 1962, powered by a new air-cooled 1.5-liter flat-eight. On July 8, Gurney turned in a brilliant drive at the French Grand Prix, giving Porsche its lone F1 victory:

At the conclusion of the '62 season, Porsche withdrew from F1 to fund its road car development, namely a new project called Typ 901. All things considered, we'd say that one turned out pretty well.